Mind the Sheep
by SandraDeee
Summary: Nathan and Audrey discover that not every problem in Haven is Troubles related. Post episode 2x11. Unabashed fluff.


**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note:** This story contains spoilers for episode 2x11. What an amazing eppy and so worth the wait. Needless to say, that episode inspired some good ol' fluff. So here's some fluff...and some fleece. ;)

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><p>"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I never thought I'd be so happy to see a good old-fashioned burglary."<p>

Audrey and Nathan had been out on an atypical-for-Haven forced entry call, convinced that it was going to be Troubles-related, only to find out that it was just a smash and grab deal. They'd caught up to the burglar who, in his infinite wisdom, left his wallet in the bushes under the window he'd climbed through. The thief was headed for lockup in a police cruiser.

With that case solved, they were on their way to check on Mildred Mallory before returning to the station. The elderly woman had reported footprints in her flowerbed. Laverne had been apologetic when she'd radioed Nathan, suspecting that the call was made more from loneliness and paranoia rather than an actual perpetrator of some kind, but he and Audrey were already in the general vicinity.

"Thought you lived for the strange," Nathan replied turning onto County Road Y before hitting the accelerator to cruise up the steep incline.

"Well, I'm starting to think that normalcy qualifies for strange around here. Either way, I've had my fill for a few days."

_What a strange few days._ Being cleared of wrongdoing at the inquiry. Meeting the real Lucy Ripley. Finding out that her own memory had been purposely erased, likely just as the real Audrey Parker's had been. Learning that Duke's father had once sought to kill her and expected his son to complete the job. _Kissing Nathan._

It seemed wrong somehow to lump their kiss in with the other events, not when it felt like the most natural, the most real experience of her life. They hadn't talked about what it did or didn't mean. It just was what it was. Enticing. Ardent. Perfect. She was trying to be nonchalant about it, trying not to assign too much weight to a kiss that had surprised them both.

First and foremost, they were friends. She couldn't lose that, _wouldn't_ lose that.

Never mind she halfway thought her heart was going to leap out from her chest every time she looked over at him. Never mind that she turned into a pile of goop when she felt his eyes on her. Never mind that his quiet intensity made her want to drag him to the nearest bed or other sturdy piece of furniture and just _devour_ him.

She shook her head slightly. Since when had she become so damn _girly_?

He seemed to sense—or had he looked over and saw?—her churning emotions. "Parker?"

Nathan's unspoken question hung in the air as Audrey glanced across the interior of the truck at him. His sure hands gripped the steering wheel. His eyes were now focused on the road.

As much as she might want to stare, she forced herself to look away. She'd always thought him to be ruggedly handsome, attractive in the same way that a movie star is attractive. Nice to look at, but she didn't ever really expect anything to come of it.

But now when she looked at him, it was more than just seeing an attractive man. She was attracted to _him_. Not that his appearance had changed. Rather her perception of him had. She'd realized for a long time that he was the most decent man she could remember knowing, recognized that he was smart, funny, trustworthy. But there had been an intangible shift and it all clicked into place only in the last few days. It astounded her that Nathan knew he could feel only her, had feelings for her, and was willing to let her go if that was what made her happy.

_Why would she ever want to leave that? And why had she taken so long to see this amazing, unassuming man who had been right in front of her the whole time?_

"Ran into Duke this morning."

She ventured a look in his direction, unsure of whether she should have said anything. Nathan's jaw clenched slightly, telling her what she needed to know.

"Don't give me that," she gently chided.

"What?"

"_That._ That jaw clenching thing."

He glanced over at her quickly, shooting her an exasperated look. "Until we know why Simon Crocker was after you and instructed Duke to—"

"Duke's not going to kill me," she interrupted. "This is Duke we're talking about."

"Don't tell me he's harmless."

"No. I know he's not _harmless_, but he's weirded out enough for the both of us. This morning when I saw him, he was offering to let me pat him down. For about two seconds, I thought it was a come-on, but in his own way, he was trying to show me I could trust him."

"Parker, what if it's something he can't control, like what happened on the _Cape Rouge_ with Dwight?"

"Then I'll have to channel my inner badass." She cleared her throat lightly. "He told me you came to see him."

Nathan said nothing; he merely clenched his jaw again.

"I appreciate the sentiment. I do. I just…you don't have to run interference."

"I don't think you should trust him. Not completely." His unspoken message hung in the air. Nathan was afraid for her, far more than he was for himself now that he'd drawn the proverbial line in the sand by attending the meeting for the Troubled.

"Can I even die, Nathan?" she asked quietly.

"We know you can be hurt. And call me crazy, but I'd rather not chance it. Would you?"

"But we have no idea who or…or…what I am. Do I even age? Do I…" her voice trailed off.

"We're going to figure it out, but in the meantime, there's no doubt in my mind who you are."

And when he said it, she believed it. Hadn't he worked tirelessly for the last year bringing together clues, finding a woman who had done everything she could to keep from being found?

She leaned her head back against the seat, enjoying the calming effect he had on her. Turning her head slightly, she looked out the window at the beautiful Maine countryside. The rolling hills formed by glaciers in some long-forgotten Ice Age were perfectly green, complementing the brilliant blue of the sky, which held fleecy clouds.

As she recalled, the Mallory place was about two miles ahead. Fencerows separated properties, and soon they were passing the old Mason place. As they did, her eyes widened. She'd heard the Masons kept sheep (the wool went into the custom sweaters at Robertson's Mercantile, a favorite haunt of Haven's tourists), but the few times she had been out this way, she'd never seen them. Now sheep, hundreds of them, in what seemed like gray and white bundles were grazing lazily on the grass of the field. Some were quite close to the road, sticking their fluffy heads through the drawn-wire fences to reach the grass along the shoulder.

The acres of tranquil sheep fascinated her. Her head was craned looking back at the grazing sheep they had just passed in the Bronco when Nathan lightly swore and slammed on the brakes. She lurched forward slightly, the seatbelt tightening around her, as the truck came to an abrupt halt.

"What was that for?"

He didn't bother to apologize. "Sheep in the road."

Audrey looked forward and saw what he was talking about. Three sheep lined up across the road, no care in the world. One of them turned its head and glanced up at the Bronco, only to look away again and proceed to continue doing absolutely nothing while going absolutely nowhere.

"Wow. That's a first for me." She was opening the door and sliding out the Bronco before he could stop her.

"Parker, what are you doing?"

"I've never touched one," she called back. "I just want to see what it feels like."

One of them shied away as she approached, but for the most part, the sheep barely paid any attention to her.

Any annoyance Nathan may have felt toward the animals began to fade as Audrey leaned and touched one of the sheep. A broad grin spread across her features. In her eyes was the wonder of discovery.

"How do they feel?" he asked.

"Soft, but not as soft as I'd thought they would."

"We should see if we can get these sheep to move. Can't really leave them in the middle of the road, though. Road hazard."

"Right. We've got to get them back over the fence."

"Fun," he replied flatly.

"Well, like you said, they can't stay in the middle of the road."

Nathan's eyes scanned the fence for the breach but did not immediately spot it. "You do realize that they'll probably find the same hole in the fence again and be back out before you know it."

"Then we'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen." She reached down to encircle the sheep she had been touching and tried to lift it. "Okay. So they're heavier than I thought." She began to stagger toward the fence strung along the shoulder of the road while the sheep she carried bleated, kicked, and otherwise engaged in a fierce struggle. "I am trying to help you," she scolded the animal. It wasn't easy, but after a battle of wills that tested her strength, she dropped the sheep over the fence. Turning to scowl at Nathan, she challenged, "Are you going to help or not?"

Truth was, he had been so fixated on watching her, he'd momentarily forgotten about the other two sheep. The fierce determination that played on her features as she tried to reason with the animal, much as she would a person, struck him as funny, though he doubted Audrey would see the humor in it.

"Don't suppose I have much of a choice."

The other two sheep weren't as easily duped as the first was. It took several minutes to catch sheep number two with Audrey running herd. Twice Nathan lost the animal because her husky laughter distracted him. He found himself joining in her laughter. If anyone could see them, two detectives with guns holstered, trying to coax and collect sheep, he knew they'd never live it down. Finally, he managed to scoop up the second animal, not having nearly the same amount of trouble as she did getting the sheep to the fence.

"Two down. One to go," he announced after he gently dropped the second sheep on the other side of the fence. Nathan turned and saw Audrey's eyes were on him, her expression undecipherable to him.

"I don't know, Nathan. This sheep looks troubled." Her serious tone gave way to an impish smile.

Nathan played along. "And you can tell this by…?"

"Look at those eyes. They're shady. Seriously, if I didn't know better, I would say we know this sheep."

With the slightest quirk of a half-smile, he replied, "Where you do you suppose Duke is right now?"

With an exaggerated roll of her eyes, she instructed, "Just be nonchalant. Walk around that side, I'll walk around this side. We'll catch her in the middle."

"Her? How can you tell? Is she bossy?"

"Haha, funny man," Audrey replied good-naturedly. She looked back at the sheep. "This is how it's going to be. You are going to cooperate. No trickery."

Nathan's first instinct was to get back in the Bronco and wait until Audrey had finished making a fool of herself. But he was her partner, and what kind of partner would he be if he didn't join in? Nathan circled to the left while Audrey circled around the right.

She looked up at Nathan, catching his eyes. "On the count of three. One…two….three!" Audrey dived toward the animal.

Without giving himself a chance to consider the absurdity of their actions, Nathan lunged from his side on her count. Meanwhile, the sheep seemed to gain a sense of urgency and practically trotted out of the way. However, the momentum of their movements carried their bodies to a collision. Audrey felt the rush of air as their bodies slammed into one another, while all Nathan could feel was the soft give of her body as they tumbled to the grassy shoulder.

With the breath knocked out of her, Audrey lay on her back, half under Nathan, a tangle of arms and legs. Her first thought was that his body was quite muscled, hard, and very…male. She might not have had her breath, but she had enough sense to know that if they stayed like this for too long, things were bound to be more complicated than they already were. Yet looking up at him, seeing the clarity of his blue eyes, the gentle lines as his mouth formed a gentle smile, the contour of his jaw, the short stubble on his cheeks, she found herself unwilling to move.

_Just another moment_, she told herself.

"That didn't go as planned," he deadpanned.

"Yeah," she rasped out.

"I should…" He began to shift his weight off her. "You okay?"

She reached up, hands finding his waist and stilling his movement away from her. "Just had the wind knocked out of me. You?"

His breath hitched as he felt her small hands find their way under the hem of his shirt and press against his skin. "Think so."

Did she have any idea of what she was doing to him?

He hovered over her, his face mere inches from hers.

And he could see it in her eyes. She knew exactly what she was doing to him and more amazingly, seemed just as affected as he was.

"Nathan." His name came out like a sigh as she lifted herself slightly to press her forehead against his. "I really think you should kiss me."

"Agreed."

His hand cradled the back of her neck, supporting her as his lips brushed against hers in a tentative exploration. She moaned slightly, emboldening him as he teased her lips apart and tasted her fully. She was warm. She was eager. She tasted of cinnamon and sass, he decided in what coherent thoughts he could screw together as sensations coursed through him. It was an overload. Hands against his skin, her lips against his, nipping at him, tempting him, her body drawing him nearer.

_Hold me. Give me more,_ she silently demanded of him.

He was more than happy to comply. He found himself straining to get closer. So close. Not close enough.

A dose of reality in the form of the cold nose of the renegade sheep against Audrey's ear found her giggling against Nathan. They broke their kiss and stared up at the animal.

"You've got to be kidding me," Nathan grumbled.

"I told you she was troubled."

Nathan shifted off of Audrey, pulling her up in a sitting position. He unconsciously rubbed the back of his head. "Probably isn't a good idea to be making out on the side of the road anyway."

"Making out?" Her tone teased his choice of terms. "You make it sound like we're two horny teenagers."

"Right now, I feel like a horny teenager," he admitted, which drew a hearty chuckle from her. "And a lot more. Audrey, I feel more than your skin, more than your kisses. I feel…" He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, drawing in a deep breath. "Alive."

"Me, too, Nathan." His eyes flew open at the uncharacteristic softness of her voice. She reached over and pressed her hand against his cheek. He leaned into it, kissing her wrist. "I want to explore this with you. Whatever this is, wherever this takes us, I'm all in."

Audrey turned her attention back to the sheep. "Your timing really sucks," she reprimanded the animal, who was happily pulling grass and weeds from the side of the road. With a slight nod at Nathan, she grabbed hold of it around its scruff, and he encircled it with his arms. The sheep bleated in protest until Nathan dropped it over the other side of the fence.

"We should let Mr. Mason know his fence has a breach," Nathan commented as he shoved his hands in his pocket to retrieve his keys.

"Right. And check on Mrs. Mallory," Audrey added.

"And maybe after that…"

"Oh, _definitely_ after that."

She climbed into the Bronco, as did Nathan, and the two were soon on their way, the air of anticipation thick between them.

Audrey found herself looking over at him, though this time she didn't force herself to look away. Her eyes traced the contours of his face. The butterflies in her stomach gripped her.

Nathan was steady and sure, fiery and tender. He was her best friend and would soon be her lover.

This was happening. It was really happening.

Audrey had never felt more alive.

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><p>The End<p> 


End file.
